Bad for the neighborhood

Tuesday

Oct 29, 2013 at 11:15 AMOct 29, 2013 at 2:52 PM

A few years from now, folks will be walking down Pleasant Street in Framingham past yet another subdivision of overpriced homes on cul-de-sacs. “In the old days,” one will say to the other, “there was a retreat here for Catholic priests. It had grand, 1930s-vintage buildings, open green lawns and playing fields, tree-lined lanes… Around back, there was an amphitheater of sorts, a shrine backed by a tall stone wall, where the priests would have services and prayer. It was a grand spot, an oasis of green, a bit of history, that really made our neighborhood special.

“But the neighbors didn’t appreciate it. When a doctor came around with a plan to save the Marist campus and turn it into a place for healing, they stormed the ZBA, demanding that “the integrity of the neighborhood” required that lovely spot be bulldozed and replaced by more homes, more garages, more cars.

“You know, Framingham isn’t the pleasant community it used to be, even here on Pleasant Street.”

Rick Holmes

A few years from now, folks will be walking down Pleasant Street in Framingham past yet another subdivision of overpriced homes on cul-de-sacs. “In the old days,” one will say to the other, “there was a retreat here for Catholic priests. It had grand, 1930s-vintage buildings, open green lawns and playing fields, tree-lined lanes… Around back, there was an amphitheater of sorts, a shrine backed by a tall stone wall, where the priests would have services and prayer. It was a grand spot, an oasis of green, a bit of history, that really made our neighborhood special.

“But the neighbors didn’t appreciate it. When a doctor came around with a plan to save the Marist campus and turn it into a place for healing, they stormed the ZBA, demanding that “the integrity of the neighborhood” required that lovely spot be bulldozed and replaced by more homes, more garages, more cars.

“You know, Framingham isn’t the pleasant community it used to be, even here on Pleasant Street.”